Gilead to buy Germany’s Tubulis for up to US$5 billion to boost cancer pipeline

Gilead Sciences headquarters pictured in this July 9, 2015, file photo, in Foster City, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Gilead said on Tuesday it would acquire Germany-based Tubulis GmbH for up to US$5 billion, as it looks to strengthen its cancer drugs pipeline.

This marks the latest in Gilead’s acquisition spree. The company has been expanding beyond its key areas for growth amid looming patent expiries and declining sales ​of its COVID-19 treatment.

In February, the U.S. drugmaker bought partner ​Arcellx for up to $7.8 billion, while last month it agreed to acquire privately held ​biotech firm Ouro Medicines in a deal worth more than $2 billion.

With the latest deal, Gilead will get access to Tubulis’ experimental drugs, which belong to a class called antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), popularly known as “guided missiles,” that deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy tissue.

We believe the Tubulis acquisition represents a strategically sound bolt-on that addresses Gilead’s oncology pipeline growth needs, while securing differentiated next-gen ADC platform capabilities, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams.

Tubulis’ lead asset, TUB-040, which binds to NaPi2b, a protein found in certain cancer cells, is currently in early-stage development for a type of ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

Another experimental drug, TUB-030, is being studied across various solid tumor types.

“Our drugs in early trials have delivered very competitive data,” said Tubulis CEO Dominik Schumacher.

“Now for me, it’s all about how can we get this as quickly as possible to patients. And with a partner like Gilead, I think this is really the perfect way to get this vision into reality,” he added.

Gilead will acquire all of the outstanding equity of Tubulis for $3.15 billion in upfront cash, payable at closing, and up to $1.85 billion in milestone payments.

The companies have previously entered into licensing agreements to develop ADCs. Tubulis also has a partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY.N

After the deal closes, expected in the second quarter, Tubulis will operate as an ADC research organization within Gilead.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)